Tampon applicators are well known and are extensively used for inserting catamenial tampons into the vagina during menstruation. Such applicators typically comprise a generally cylindrical housing for the tampon, and a generally cylindrical plunger which is telescopically slidable into the housing. The catamenial tampon is extruded from one end of the housing by sliding or pushing the plunger into the other end of the housing. Since the major portion of the plunger extends out of one end of the housing in preparation for pushing against the tampon within the housing, the length of a tampon applicator in the packaged configuration may be about twice the length of the housing, and several times the length of the actual catamenial tampon. This results in a tampon applicator that is bulky and inconvenient to carry in, for example, a pocket, wallet, purse, pocket book or small handbag, and which is also to some extent fragile, since the plunger may be bent out of alignment with the housing during transportation, rendering the applicator useless, or at best difficult to use.
A number of different approaches have been tried for reducing the overall packaged length of a tampon applicator. One form of compact applicator comprises the plunger and housing as separate components which are assembled by the user typically just prior to use. While perhaps going some way to overcoming the problems of regular telescopic applicators described above, this form of applicator suffers from two major disadvantages, viz., that of non-compliance by a great proportion of potential users, who find the assembly process too time-consuming, fidgety or simply undesirable, and that of the possibility of the plunger being misplaced necessitating a new plunger to be obtained or rendering the applicator useless. Further, the plunger or the housing may be dropped onto a non-hygienic surface such as a floor during assembly, increasing the risk of contamination of these components, particularly when such an assembly is carried out in a bathroom or public lavatory.
Another approach involves an applicator comprising a plunger which is itself formed from a number of elements which telescopically slide one inside the other. In the packaged configuration, the telescopic elements of the plunger are nested one inside the other, offering a compact configuration. When needed for use, a potential user extends the telescopic elements of the plunger which interlock with each other when fully extended, providing a relatively rigid plunger of sufficient length to enable the catamenial tampon to be ejected from the housing. However, this type of applicator is generally expensive to produce, and some users find the plunger extension operation undesirable and/or difficult.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,831,605 discloses yet another type of compact applicator comprising a plunger having a pusher element abutting the tampon, and a thin handle hinged to the pusher element. In the packaged configuration, the handle is situated side-by-side with respect to the housing, and when the applicator is required for use the handle is swiveled about the hinge and locked in longitudinal configuration with respect to the pusher element. A disadvantage of this applicator is that the handle of the plunger is thin and tends to easily bend out of alignment with the housing when the pushing force on the plunger is not perfectly co-axial with the handle, which in practice is the case. Further, the plunger handle may be permanently bent or deformed during the insertion process thereby preventing further actuation of the plunger and resulting in the tampon not being fully ejected from the casing. The locking mechanism between the handle and the pusher element may also be damaged relatively easily during the insertion process thereby enabling the handle to swivel freely about the hinge preventing further ejection of the tampon except with great difficulty. Further, the string for drawing out the tampon extends from the proximal end of the housing during the ejection process, and thus may become entangled with the plunger causing difficulties during tampon insertion into the body, and well as during the subsequent removal of the applicator from the vagina.
One aim of the present invention is to provide a catamenial tampon applicator which overcomes the aforementioned disadvantages of the prior art general applicators and of the prior art compact applicators.
Another aim of the present invention is to provide a compact catamenial tampon applicator which may be operated in a similar manner to regular telescopic applicators.
Another aim of the present invention is to provide a compact catamenial tampon applicator in which the housing and/or plunger may have a curved longitudinal axis.
Another aim of the present invention is to provide a compact catamenial tampon applicator which enables the plunger to be inserted into the housing while maintaining a proximal portion of the plunger at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the housing.
Another aim of the present invention is to provide a compact catamenial tampon applicator which may be inexpensively manufactured.
The present invention achieves these and other aims by providing a compact tampon applicator comprising a housing for the tampon and a telescopically slidable plunger, the plunger being characterized in comprising a bendably flexible portion which enables the plunger to be folded upon itself such that the free end of the plunger is laterally aligned with the housing in the packaged configuration, and enabling the plunger to be unfolded bringing the free end thereof in a proximal relationship with respect to the housing when required for use, thus enabling the plunger to be inserted into the housing thereby ejecting the tampon out of the other end of the housing.